Logan Canyon Snowman

We did something fun this weekend. We drove up Logan Canyon to see the giant snowman!

I had heard about this snowman from a KSL Instagram post and wanted to go see it for myself. So Saturday we took a drive and the snowman did not disappoint. This thing was epic. It was probably 40 feet tall and 10 feet wide I'm guessing. It was so cool. I have no idea who made it or how but it was fun to see.

While we were there Colby found a cool snow couch someone had made. He stretched out on it for a minute. 

After checking out the Snowman, we continued up the canyon and stopped at the Sinks to do some sledding. The Sinks are really fun because the hills are huge. Well going down is really fun but climbing back up the hills definitely give you a workout. The kids had a blast but there were a ton of people and snowmobiles so we were only there for about an hour. This was a fun little day trip for the family.

9 Months Old

Little sister is 9 months old now!! She is getting too big! She now weighs 20 pounds 1 ounce (78 percentile) and is 26.75 inches tall (16 percentile). Her head is 18 inches round (91 percentile).

Brooklyn has been getting very mobile lately. She started army crawling on Christmas and now a few weeks later she has taken her first actual crawls! She still prefers the army crawl because it is faster but I am sure she will start really crawling more and more. 

She is constantly on the move now. I can set her down and look away for a minute and she will be all the way down the hall. We have to keep all the doors closed or she will get into everything! This also means we have to sweep and vacuum the floor a lot more often because she will find any little piece of anything and stick it in her mouth. She has tried to eat rocks, legos, paper, or anything else she can find. 

Brooklyn loves being entertained by her siblings. Her new favorite thing is to crawl over to the baby gate by the stairs and play peekaboo with the kids on the other side of the gate. She laughs and screams at them as they try and get her through the gate.

Brooklyn you are so fun to have around. And I love this age if playfulness and exploration.

Snow Much Fun

It has been snowing a lot lately and there is nothing better to do in snow than go sledding. Saturday was the perfect day for sledding because it was not too cold.  We took the kids up to Hardware Ranch to find some deeper snow and we found it.  The kids were excited to try out their new snowboards and sleds that they got for Christmas. I was actually really surprised by how good they were on the snowboards.

I mean yeah there were still crashes but for the most part, they were able to ride the boards down the hill. Colby and Logan were pros! Emily was still a little scared and off balance but she'll get it. Charlotte loved her new sled and went up and down the hill all on her own multiple times. 

The snow was so deep that it was hard to walk in for Russell and me. We were too heavy and kept sinking up to our knees every few steps.  The kids though we're light enough that they just walked on top of the snow with no problems. We definitely need to invest in snowshoes. Actually we do because we saw a few people hiking around in their snowshoes and it looked so fun. Maybe next winter?

This was Brooklyn's first time being in snow. Unfortunately she has outgrown her actual snowsuit so she just has a fleece warm suit. This is not water/snow proof so she couldn't actually go in the snow. Instead she was bundled up inside my coat and I laid in the snow for her. She was not a fan. I think she was getting bored just being crammed in my coat. She wanted to play with everyone else.  But hey she was warm. This was a fun little getaway.  It was also cool to see all of the elk up at Hardware. 

Another fun thing that happened this week was Charlotte passed off all of her Level 1 reading books!

She has been working really hard on learning to read. I don't think she really loves reading quite yet but she can do it. She was so proud of herself when the librarian gave her her very own book and certificate for reading all of the red books! Nice job Char!

Welcome 2022

 Welcome 2022! I don't know what to expect from this new year but I really hope it is a good one.  I love new years because it always feels like a new start or time for a good change.  I have some goals for this new year but more importantly, I hope to do some good things this year.  I want to change for the better.  President Nelson recently posted on social media his suggestions for resolutions for the new year  This is what he said:

I don't know if you can read all that because it turned out kind of small but I thought it was very prophetic and what I needed to hear!  He listed three things we should resolve to do this year and I am going to do them.  First he says to resolve to strengthen your spiritual foundation.  I am going to do this by continuing to read the scriptures and church magazines.  I hope to read the entire Old Testament this year as well as study the Come, Follow, Me lessons with the family.  I am going to be better at praying.  My struggle with praying is I feel like I have nothing important to say until I really need something.  I know this is just my insecurities coming out and I hope to overcome that.  Finally, I want to attend the temple more often.  I have not been to the temple in almost 2 years except for Cambree's wedding.  I want and need to change this.  Because of the Covid restrictions, we have to make appointments to go to the temple now.  While I do not like this, it may be good for me in that when I make an appointment, I am making a commitment.  My major goal this year though is to learn how to do family history and take my own names to the temple.  The problem is I have no idea where to start.  

The second thing President Nelson suggests it that we resolve to be kind to others.  This is something I definitely need to work on.  I have a bad habit of judging people before I really get to know them.  I need to work on that.  I also want to be more outgoing and talk to people again.  Covid has really made me a hermit. I have always been introverted but Covid has made it worse.  I did not mind being required to stay away from people and now it has become so easy to stay home and not have to interact with people.  I didn't realize how bad I had gotten until I went to a Relief Society activity and did not know anyone or even really talk to anyone.  This needs to change.  I also need to be kinder to my kids and show more compassion to them and not yell so much.

Finally, President Nelson suggest we resolve to be resolute.  This means to put for the effort to accomplish these goals.  These are some difficult life changing goals but something I feel I need to do.  President Nelson says we will come up short sometimes but out efforts will help us wax strong.

These are some good goals.  I also want to get back into running and bike riding.  That has always been a good stress reliever for me and I think the reason I struggle with the things I mentioned above is because of stress.  

Russell said his main goal this year was to not get sick anymore.  I totally agree.  We threw out all of the junk food from Christmas are going to eat healthier from now on.  He also wants to ride in Lotoja bike race again. 

As for the kids, I really want them to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and the gospel.  I know this will land a lot on me to teach them but it will be worth it.  Elder Cook said "We can raise righteous, hopeful children anywhere in the world if they have a firm foundation in the Savior."  He says we do this by heeding the council in 2 Nephi 25:26 that says "We talk of Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ,... that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."  All I need to do is talk about Christ and the gospel in our everyday conversations!  I also want them to be kinder to each other and other people.  

Here's to a new year with lots of new goals and resolutions.  It should be a good year!